Posted June 2025
Singapore has so many interesting neighborhoods, attractions, and things to see and do. Below are some highlights of some of the major attractions. This is by no means all inclusive. Depending on what you like to spend your time doing, do some research and find what appeals to you most.
1 – Eat great food!
Go to Singapore hungry! One of my favorite things about Singapore is the restaurants and bars. The diversity of food is huge and you can find the most amazing food offered from Hawker stalls to Michelin Star restaurants. Make sure to build plenty of time into your Singapore itinerary to enjoy lots of different kinds of food from the amazing Singapore restaurants and bars!
Check out the Where To Eat (live link and information coming soon) section in this blog post for reviews of just a few of the many options in Singapore.
2 – Get a great overview of Singapore on the double decker sightseeing bus
Buy a ticket on the double decker bus to get a good overview of Singapore (and use as your mode of transportation around the city). I love to use the double decker red buses when I visit a new city for the first time. I’ve ridden them in places like Singapore, New York City, Washington DC, Paris, Sydney, London, and more. We typically ride the full loop without getting off to get our bearings in the new city, then we decide where to get off on our next loop.
While there are multiple options, my company of choice in Singapore is the Big Bus Tours Singapore. There are a couple of different routes that will get you to most of the major tourist attractions and neighborhoods in Singapore.
Major stops on the Singapore routes include (but are not limited to): Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, Botanical Gardens, Orchard Road, Raffles Hotel, Clark Quay, Robertson Quay, Little India, Sultan Mosque, China Town, and more.
We have also done the Big Bus night tour, which was super fun! We got to see Marina Barrage (with great views of Singapore), Lau Pa Sat for some satay (see Where to Eat for more info), Gardens by the Bay for the light and sound show at Supertree Grove (more on this below), Clark Quay, and Orchard Road. The sights are beautiful (and different) at night!
For more information, visit their official website:
Big Bus Tours Singapore | Singapore Hop on, Hop off Bus Tours
3 – Get a photo (or two) with the Merlion
The Merlion is the official mascot of Singapore. The iconic Merlion statue is located in Merlion Park on Marina Bay, close to shops and restaurants. It is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. The fish body represents Singapore’s history as a fishing village and the lion head represents Singapore’s original name, Singapura, meaning lion city.
No trip to Singapore is complete without vising the Merlion. I like to go really early in the morning before the crowds gather by the statue. It’s the best time to get a daylight photo without the crowds! And going at night reveals a whole different look for the Merlion.
4 – Visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens (coming soon)
Will be adding content soon on Gardens by the Bay, Cloud Forest, The Supertree Grove light show, and the water show.
5 – Check out the Iconic Marina Bay Sands (coming soon)
Will be adding content soon on Marina Bay Sands.
6 – Stay Cool at the Museum of Ice Cream
The Museum of Ice Cream is a super fun place to cool off and spend a couple of hours on a hot Singapore day. It’s one of the most Instagrammable places in Singapore, includes more than 12 displays, offers the opportunity to eat all the ice cream you want, and is filled with pink and other fun colors. Can’t imagine a better way to spend part of a day!
There are a variety of rooms that you travel through on your walk thru the Museum of Ice Cream. These include: world’s largest sprinkle pool, giant pink bouncy castle, glowing ice cream maze, California Dreamin’ ice cream room, Scream’s Diner (complete with juke box), banana split tunnel, and more. They are all fun, colorful, and offer lots of yummy ice cream.
General admission prices vary depending on if you go on a weekday or weekend, but are about $40/person. You can also upgrade your experience to a premium ticket, which will get you unlimited ice cream at 5 ice cream stations (and access to some premium flavor options). I highly recommend purchasing the upgrade. If you are going to the Museum of Ice Cream, you might as well go all out on the experience!
To avoid any issues, you can book your tickets online ahead of time for a small fee, with a pre-selected entry time.
For more information, visit their official website: Visit Singapore – MUSEUM OF ICE CREAM.
7 – See Singapore from the sky on the Singapore Flyer
The Singapore Flyer, opened in 2008, is a large observation wheel near Marina Bay. There are 28 air-conditioned capsules that can hold up to 28 people each. You can get some great views of Marina Bay and Singapore from the Singapore Flyer.
You can ride it with no amenities or can select from options like ride + cocktail, ride + champagne, ride + meal, ride + specialty celebration events (ie, Valentine’s Day or Chinese New Year).
The Flyer is a great way to get a bird’s eye view of Singapore while cooling off in the air conditioning for the 30 minutes it takes to make the loop.
For more information, visit their official website: Home | Singapore Flyer.
8 – Visit Armenian Street and the Peranakan museum
Aremenian Street is a street in Central Singapore located in the Museum Planning Area. It is a short street with fun artwork and some Singapore landmarks including The Substation and the Old Tao Nan School which is the Peranakan Museum, part of the Asian Civilisations Museum.
I strolled Armenian Street enjoying the art, then visited the Peranakan Museum.
The Peranakan Museum is filled with exhibits about Peranakan heritage and culture. In case you are wondering what Peranakan is… The Peranakans are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang, namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago, as well as Singapore.
Displays in the Peranakan Museum include: Origins, Ceramic and Food Culture, Family and Community Life, Batik, Decorative Textiles, Family Life, and Jewelry.
I found the museum to be very interesting and totally worth a visit! It’s a great way to learn more about the local people and history.
For more information, visit their official website: Peranakan Museum (nhb.gov.sg).
9 – Visit Singapore’s cultural neighborhoods (more detail coming soon)
Chinatown – Known as Niu Che Shui (牛车水) in Mandarin, this name refers to the bullock carts that were used to transport water to the area in the early days of Singapore. In Hokkien, it’s called Gu Chia Chui (古仔街), also with the same meaning.
Kampong Glam/Arab Street – While it has the official name of Kampong Glam, it’s commonly referred to as the “Muslim Quarter” or the “Arab Quarter” due to its historical and cultural significance for the Muslim community in Singapore, and it includes Arab Street.
Little India – Locally, it’s often called Tekka within the Indian Singaporean community. It also has historical ties to the Malay name Kampung Kapor, though this is less commonly used today.
10 – Sentosa Island (more coming soon)
11 – Orchard Road (more coming soon)
12 – Jewell Changi Airport (more coming soon)
13 – Long Bar at Raffles Hotel (more coming soon)
14 – Fort Canning Park (more coming soon)
15 – Take a trip to another part of Southeast Asia
And when you feel like you’ve seen it all on this tiny island… or just want to check out something different… Singapore is a great destination from which to easily reach other Southeast Asian countries. We’ve traveled from Singapore to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Dubai, Maldives, and Indonesia.
It’s easy to get many places and many of them are easily accessible for a short weekend away – so highly recommend visiting some other Southeast Asian locations on your trip to Singapore!
Click here to return to the Singapore overview page and access more info on Singapore.